Essays on Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley’s famous work, "Frankenstein," marked the beginning of the whole new genre of literature, science fiction. Studying the critique of this work of Walter Scott and Sherry Ginn, the reader comes to the same conclusion with the critics: this book is extraordinary in nature and it is unlikely that before "Frankenstein" there was something like the work of Shelley. Although both of the above critics write about different aspects of "Frankenstein", though, Scott and Ginn agree on the fact that Shelley has created something truly new, what does not fit into neither autobiographical work, nor fiction, nor ...

Introduction

he literature has always used specific instances about destruction and damage caused by the act of humans to violate and misuse the natural life cycle processes. Instances of the disastrous consequences when humans use their illegitimate powers to manipulate the natural life form are given with respect to the prevalent cultural themes of the respective eras. Shakespeare's ‘The Tempest’ involves the use of magical prowess in manipulating the normal human characteristics and subsequent creation of the man-made devil, named Caliban. Similarly, Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein’ explicates the violation of the natural life cycle be creating a life from the remains ...

It is believed by many scholars like Ellen Moers, who wrote Female Gothic: The Monster’s Mother that when Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly wrote Frankenstein, she wrote the story as a reflection of her own fears and issues with parenting. I also think that Shelley may have felt that her offspring were somehow against the laws of nature and that this is why most of them died at birth or in early infancy. Where Victor only had created life from the confines of death, she herself brought death from what should have been life. This of course was no fault ...

Analysis of the novel

“Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” is an outstanding work by Mary Shelley who focuses on the deep exploration of various feelings, emotions, motives, and actions pervading the human mind. At first glance, the book appears quite simple, and the characters are easy to criticize and judge. However, by the end of “Frankenstein,” I was impressed by its depth and major topics covered by the writer. The style of this masterpiece also impressed me. Besides, Mary Shelley has a great ability to present details and depicts the Swiss scenery in a highly vivid manner. In my opinion, with the achievements ...

English

Thesis Statement: The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a story about the desire to use of modern industrial techno-science to create a new discovery may result to more harm than good. Just like the ancient Greek Prometheus, Shelley’s novel represents a modern industrial techno-science to create the character of Frankenstein. Compared to the story of Greek Prometheus, it sought to free his people by separating mortals from immortals, only to be reunited again in a festive, religious ritual (Jager 1). By contrast, Shelley’s novel explained that the combination of modern human science and scientific psychology ...

Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley is an English writer who was born on August 30, 1797. Among her works it is possible to mention The Last Man, Valperga, Lodore and other. However, her most famous novel is Frankenstein. The idea of writing a horror story was proposed by Lord Byron. It was at this time when Shelley started to work at her novel Frankenstein which was written in 1818. The book immediately became a success. In fact, it is still considered as one of the most successful books of the 19th century and there ...

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 2 (March 1818): 613-20—by Walter Scott

Scott’s thesis is essentially that supernatural or unnatural situations are permissible in literature as long as the characters still behave in human ways. "personages shall conduct themselves, in the extraordinary circumstances in which they are placed, according to the laws of probability, and the nature of the human heart."(Scott). In the story Frankenstein is portrayed as a man, who is educated, intelligent, well-liked and curious. This curiosity would lead him to create his creature as he sought to understand and control the nature of life and death. Scott points out that as the creature becomes more educated, ...

12 Book Descriptors 12 Book Descriptors

Penned by the feminist author of America, Kate Chopin, the novel is one of the very first works of literature that points to the challenges faced by women in the American society. This naturalist work stirs readers with its narrative.

A Doll’s House, Henrik Isben (40 words)

Henrik Isben’s most famous play, A Doll’s house, leaves a mark on the audience or readers with the engaging narrative that shows the gradual transformation of Nora. The play reflects the oppressive nature of marriage and speaks for gender equality.

Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley. (40 words)

This sci-fi novel is immortalized in the pages of literary history ...

Frankenstein is one of the most successful stories that Mary Shelley wrote, and it has remained to become a legend to her writing and literary works. While this story was published in 1816, the inception of its story line began way before this date, and its eventual writing was a manifestation of life espionages that Mary endured. In fact, this story was written as a lamentation to the life’s discourse that Mary had experienced, especially after people she so much loved faced the cruelty in the hands of gruesome death. Therefore, the life discourse that Mary had experienced ...

Women Then and Now

The 18th and 19th Century in America was a period of development, war, and change. During that time, there were many immigrants in the state. The number of immigrants had risen due to slavery. This essay will discuss the role that American women played in the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, the essay will explain the roles that American women currently play. The essay will make use of Mary Shelley’s work to discuss the status and roles of women in the 18th and 19th centuries, while Emily Dickerson’s works will be utilized to discuss the current ...

It is obvious the world today is not perfect. There are many problems plaguing society, problems we are incessantly attempting to fix. In the context of literature and film, these problems and blemishes are easily remedied. They are erased immediately, with seemingly impossible solutions not only offered, but also rendered to the people’s delight or woe. Science fiction often speaks to society’s problems, participating in the ongoing conversation about them by offering solutions, or perpetuating continued problems in showcasing solutions gone awry. Dystopian science fiction novels, such as, “Brave New World,” notoriously attempt to peddle what seem ...

Mary Shelley’s seminal science fiction novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus deals greatly with the creation of life, man’s role in it, and where the cruelty of a being can come from. In many ways, the book’s titular scientist, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, is just a pioneer attempting to expand man’s understanding of life and death, his experiments meant to help mankind cheat their own mortality and provide a better future to people. However, the creature that is created is born into a world that categorically rejects him as a freak; as a result, the monster ...

In the historical course of world literature, monsters have always made a mark in the stories, epics, and cultures of civilization. The Ancient Greeks envisioned one-eyed giants lumbering about their plains; the Japanese of the 1950s saw enormous lizards that were capable of levelling entire cities; and modern Americans have feared the coming of otherworldly creatures from outer space out to invade the entire planet, or at least, the North American continent. In Western literature, no monster has so encapsulated this phenomenon than that created by Victor Frankenstein, in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, first published ...

The book ‘Frankenstein’ written by Mary Shelley and published in the year 1818 is one of the famous literary works in the genre of gothic horror fiction. In the book, the author discusses about the ethical issues of technological advancements and researches the relationship of man with its creator . Frankenstein is the story of Victor, a man who possesses health, wealth, friends and family. Victor has a deep interest in science and a burning desire for knowledge and research. Victor’s passion in science drives him to make a demon, which he later realizes to be a blunder. The demon kills Victor’s family ...

It is a well-known fact that Mary Shelley’s family relationships were beset by difficulties, and she somehow ended up reflecting on them in her novel, Frankenstein. There are quite a few essays that prove the point that Mary Shelly expressed her own life into her fictional novel. However, an underlying subject in the novel has somehow evaded the critical eyes of critics, until Susan Coulter wrote about it in her essay “‘Frankenstein’ – a cautionary tale of bad parenting,” which is posted on Mary Shelley’s website. Through her essay, Frankenstein’ – a cautionary tale of bad parenting” and despite the use of limited ...

Annotated Bibliography: Definition of a Monster

Introduction Considering that particular focus of this research is defining what a monster is. The sources incorporated herein essentially work to define the term monster in relation to film literature, and personal perceptions. In a bid to accomplish this, sources that are to be used in the research establishes the chronology of the term monster, culture perception of the term monster, and finally the relation of monstrous characteristics to human behaviour. The most important ideas in understanding the subject of the research evident from the sources below include myths, history of monsters, magic and believes. Asma, Stephen T. On ...

The psychological traits of Victor Frankenstein are displayed throughout the pages of Mary Shelley ‘s novel, Frankenstein, published in 1818. These traits will be discussed, labeled and analyzed throughout this essay. Though Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character, Mary Shelley brings him to life, with many psychological characteristics. These characteristics are classified under psychological terms discovered by many psychiatrists, including the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.

The psychological characteristics discussed are fixation, intellectualization and reversal, all of which derive from the id, ego and super-ego.

Victor Frankenstein was a man with obsessive behavior. Once his mind was introduced to a matter in life, he wanted to know everything he could on that matter. This stems from his id. “There is something ...

Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley was first published in 1818 . It was updated and published again in 1831. It is the story of a genius who tried to create life and suffered as he had brought to life evil in the world. It is a typical gothic novel that gained popularity during the 1800s. The period was referred to as the age of enlightenment or the age of reason. It was the time when many great philosophers arose. The period came after the Renaissance and the Reformation. There was greater freedom for philosophers to write about anything ...

Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelley written in 1818 during the Romantic period and is a Gothic novel. The story is about a journey of the characters in the novel and about their quests and their relationships. The story begins with a man named Robert Walton exploring the North Pole where amidst the cold and mist Captain Walton comes across a lifeless man almost frozen in the ice. This man was Victor Frankenstein. It can be said that Captain Walton “saved” lifeless Frankenstein as compared to just keeping him alive for a week because what Captain Walton heard in that week was the ...

Introduction

There is a long history when it comes to the incorporation of monsters into narratives and stories. Many authors found the monster genre to be quite attractive to the audience and, therefore, in the 19th and the early 20th Century; there was a rise in the number of monster stories authored by different writers. Some of the most famous works of literature that have incorporated the element of monsters include “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley (1818), “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1818), “The Invisible Man (1897) and “Dracula” (1897). Many of these monster narratives have been such hits ...

Mary Shelley in her Frankenstein novel raised many interesting issues that remain important nowadays. But probably the most widely discussed one is the issue of scientific research and scientist’s responsibility. Mary Shelley was probably the first one to talk about and to foresee the danger of careless approach to fast developing technologies and science in general. The story of Victor Frankenstein is a story of inspired and dedicated scientist who failed to take his creation seriously and was not brave enough to take the responsibility. When we talk about scientist’s responsibility, we talk about its’ three components: ...

Max McDowell in his speech What is Nature vs. Nurture? explains that this scientific debate is aimed to find out whether it is genes or environment that makes the person who he/she is. Nature argument is that all the qualities of the person have evolved and depend on genes where these qualities are stored and encoded. On the other hand, one becomes human because of the information he/she receives from the external world (e.g. feelings, words, support, emotional relationship). Thus, nurture argument in this debate refers to experience, knowledge and challenges baby has to face in order to become ...

The issue of the deeper meaning of life in the world of a book or story can easily be gleaned through a story’s tone. In the case of some works of Gothic horror, tone is an excellent way to indicate the helplessness and inexorable darkness at the heart of life. William Wordsworth’s “The World is Too Much With Us,” Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein all create dark, sinister tones in their works in different ways, evincing a distinct heaviness and sense of terror lying at the deeper meaning of ...

The 1931 James Whale film Frankenstein bears, at times, little more than a surface resemblance to the original Mary Shelley novel on which it was based, Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus. One of the few distinct parallels that the book and film share beyond their core concept is a scene in which the monster interacts with an innocent little girl near a body of water. However, whereas in the book the monster saves the girl from drowning, Boris Karloff’s monster in the film unknowingly drowns the girl, only realizing what he had done far too late. The difference in these two scenes ...

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, first published in 1818, has come to have a profound effect on literature, on science and on popular culture. Shelley’s story of an over-ambitious scientist who dreams of discovering the secret of creating life and does so, but with disastrous and fatal consequences is, we might say, well-known, but little-read. Zwinkler (24) writes with wry amusement about an informal survey he conducted among his own sophomores: most of them knew the novel from hearsay and thought that ‘Frankenstein’ was the name of the monster! The students’ visual image of the monster was based on Boris ...

‘Instructor’s Name’

The Frankenstein Application Essay Mencius, a Chinese scholar who lived between 372—289 B.C.E., argues that human beings are innately good natured, and this nature can either be allowed to flower through education and self-discipline or dissipated by negative influences. Another example from ancient Asian tradition includes Valmiki, the author of the great Hindu epic Ramayana, who was a thief by profession, but was transformed through his experiences and went on to become a great thinker of his times. These examples raise an age old question - nature or nurture, which one shapes the personality of a human being. Mary Shelley’s ...

M. Shelly "Frankenstein", E. Pauline Johnson " A Red Girl's Reasoning", E. Dickinson "poems 260, 269, 320, 340, 353, 479, 1096

Introduction:

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, E Pauline Johnson’s ‘A Red Girl’s Reasoning’ and Emily Dickinson’s poetry all explore what can be seen to be similar themes such as doomed love, unrequited passions and identity. Metaphor is also present in Dickinson’s poetry where the allegorical nature of her writings arouses feelings of intimate passion on a smaller yet no less powerful scale. One can observe an indelible link between all three female authors who were concerned with love ...

During the 19th century, many changes have occurred in the political, social, and the scientific world. For instance, imperialism and industrial revolution has led to modern methods to change Britain’s industry (Burgan 12). In the literal world, Romanticism and Victorianism have emerged during this period. Romanticism compares reality with imaginative issues and humanity with nature issues. This paper will examine two books by different authors. The first book is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the second book is Hard Times by Charles Dickens. This paper will critical analyze the characters portrayed in two different periods. Frankenstein is a ...

Introduction

Monstrosity is a term used to describe an unsightly object or creature with malformations, something that is excessively big or something evil. Monstrosity is the quality and nature of being monstrous. It is what is unacceptable as natural by a particular culture. This means that the criteria used to label something as being monstrous can change over time. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is arguably the best depiction of the term monstrosity. He tells her story through two characters, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster, whereby the humanity of the two is constantly questioned (Anders 1). On the other hand, Ridley Scott’s ...

Science fiction and horror often use fantastical ideas to mirror real human anxieties and situations – this is often personified in the form of the ‘monster,’ a representation of the Other or abnormal in society. This Other can take many forms over the course of human history, and as such monsters in fiction mean different things based on their contexts. Two major works in science fiction in particular – Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s cyberpunk thriller film Blade Runner – tackle the idea of the ‘monster’ as embodiments of cultural anxieties about the Other. In this essay, Frankenstein’ ...

Both Frankenstein’s monster and Blade Runner are two intrinsically different characters which are historically alien to what we perceive as being normal. However the monster created by Victor Frankenstein is by far the most loathsome and reviled in history and the physical sense of the monster is rooted in Mary Shelley’s almost ghoulish imagination especially due to the fact that she was obsessed with the gothic and the mysterious. Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner also focuses on monsters of sorts and these are the human replicants who are out doing all sorts of menial jobs for humans ...

Gothic horror literature is a very specific type of fiction that started in the late 18th century as an offshoot of Romantic literature. Gothic literature often deals with the macabre and the terrifying – its subject matter is uniquely dark and brooding, with deeply entrenched subtexts about the changing nature of the world, and mankind’s fear of the unknown. According to Fincher, the "Gothic novel reflects a deep anxiety in eighteenth-century culture about the changing status of masculinity and femininity in a period of political and social change" (Fincher, 2001). A great deal of Gothic horror fiction deals with the changing or ...

Trace the similarities between Victor and the monster. Consider their respective relationships with nature, desires for family, and any other important parallels you find. Do Victor and the monster become more similar as the novel goes on? How does their relationship with each other develop? In the novel ‘Frankenstein’ (1818) by Mary Shelley we see two important characters Mr. Victor Frankenstein and the monster created by him pitted against each other. The inner turmoil of Victor is reflected in the psyche of the monster. The monster is a composite of body parts accumulated together to make a mirror image of ...

In the modern society, technological advancements are viewed as the positive and futuristic engagement entrusted with improving the society. However, this may not be always the case. These well-meaning advancements may result to unforeseen sinister results on certain occasions. The tale of Frankenstein is such an example. In his quest for replacing his mother’s death, victor Frankenstein ended up creating a monster then abandoning it after realizing how unfit it was for the normal society due to its abnormal features (Whelan 2011). Victor’s greatest mistake was not creating this creature out of dead body parts but abandoning it. ...

The literary world was not ready for Mary Shelley and her novel, Frankenstein. Mary Shelley, the product of a feminist mother, speaks her mind freely about the stereotypic issues that are imbedded in her culture and distinguish between men and women. When the novel, Frankenstein, was published, society was aghast, how could such a young girl write something so gothic? During the early ninetieth century an independent woman was not encouraged; her place was behind her husband. She was suppose to be a paragon of virtue and the patriarch of the family; someone on whom husbands look down, and the children ...

Analysis of Viewpoints: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is an enduring, time-tested work of fiction that poses many questions that are fundamental to the common human experience. At the end of the novel, Frankenstein’s creation becomes cognizant of his place in the world, and claims that he will commit suicide. Some claim that the creation’s suicide is inevitable, but others claim that it is the creation’s choice. The potential suicide also brings up another question: which is the true monster, the creation or the man who created it and did not take responsibility for it? The class examined these ...

The tensions associated with robotic development in modern culture mirror many of the tensions that have informed the interactions that people have with technological advances. While the twentieth century began in an atmosphere of optimism in the face of the technological promise of the twentieth century, the events that the new technology brought to pass served as a major impediment to the development of that optimism. Between the years 1914 and 1945, the world saw the advent of the armored tank, the bomber and fighter in the air, rockets carrying bombs, mustard gas and other biological weapons, the use of ...

Compare and contrast Dr. Frankenstein and his monster

Compare and contrast Dr. Frankenstein and his monster

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, many similarities can be drawn between Victor and his creation. For example, each of them had a great thirst for knowledge that led them to their deaths. What Victor Frankenstein created is very much like the way he felt himself because he felt as if he had been cast away from his own society. However much damage they have done to the society in the end both of them are still remorseful for what they have done. Though Victor and the creature may be different, these similarities ...

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein was one of the most elegant and horrifying pieces of literature written in its time, and is still widely considered a Gothic horror classic. The book follows Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a reclusive mad scientist, who seeks to create new life by sewing together the limbs and remains of several other dead bodies and reanimate them. The book and its monster have been compared to many different things in a variety of subtexts, but one of the clearest readings of the book indicates that the monster represents the dangers of knowledge, especially as the book posits that the pursuit ...

Introduction

First published in 1818, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has been one of the most renowned novels in the world of science fiction, Victor Frankenstein’s, the antagonist, is successfully able to use a dead body to create a creature. The creature has more capabilities compared to the contemporary human being. The so called “Frankenstein’s monster’ lacks the ability to interact with mankind. Mankind seems to reject its cooptation to society often viewing the creature as being the ‘other’ within the societal hierarchical framework. By spying on a poor family the monster realizes that it is not part of society and therefore ...

Classic English literature: research essay

«Frankenstein» is a novel by an English writer Mary Shelley, which comprises the features of romantic and gothic literature. The book was published twice – in 1818 and in 1831 with a small but significant change in the second case, which influenced the plot, the main character to be more exact. The idea to create a story about life and death put together in one person appeared when 18 year old Mary with her future husband Percy came to visit Lord Byron. While having the discussion in the living room, Byron offered to tell horror stories just to liven up the atmosphere. ...

In the film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) Dr. Victor Frankenstein did indeed have a moral responsibility to the creature he brought into the world, since he had quite literally decided to play God and make this monster out of dead body parts. He then compounded his arrogance by rejecting his own creation, which still had the mind of an infant, and leaving it alone to wander the earth. He had carried out these experiments with the best of intentions, with an obsession to create a new kind of superhuman species that would never experience illness, old age or death. In ...

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein was one of the most elegant and horrifying pieces of literature written in its time, and is still widely considered a horror classic. The book and its monster have been compared to many different things in a variety of subtexts, but one of the clearest readings of the book indicates that the monster represents the guilt and horror Mary Shelley felt about her dead child. In many ways, Frankenstein's monster is at once Shelley's dead child and Shelley herself; struggling to find life and belonging in a world that simply does not want it. Frankenstein's mistakes as a parent ...

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein was one of the most elegant and horrifying pieces of literature written in its time, and is still widely considered a horror classic. The book follows Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a reclusive mad scientist, who seeks to create new life by sewing together the limbs and remains of several other dead bodies and reanimate them. The book and its monster have been compared to many different things in a variety of subtexts, but one of the clearest readings of the book indicates that the monster represents the guilt and horror Mary Shelley felt about her many dead children. In ...

One of the more fascinating traits of humanity is the tendency to reflect, and to create art on the basis of that reflection. Even in the days before writing, cave paintings and the oral tradition of storytelling demonstrated the ways that people expressed their feelings – taking the time after winning, even if only briefly, the struggle against the demands of subsistence to leave a product behind, for posterity. Even the earliest recorded examples of literature, such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, poignantly express the struggles that humanity faced when dealing with such abstractions as mortality and grief. Even the most ...